Marjorie Bingham, an avid needle arts crafter, wasn’t able to personally deliver the hundreds of hats she made last year to kids who spent the holidays in area hospitals. Luckily, Bingham had two helpers she was able to rely on – her grandsons Drew Williamson and his younger brother Quinn.

Over a period of several days last month, the brothers and Saint Peter’s Prep students visited pediatric patients at Jersey City Medical Center, Christ Hospital, and Hoboken University Medical Center to deliver more than 300 crocheted hats handmade by their grandmother, whom they affectionately call “Gaga.”

The brothers, who are now learning to knit and crochet themselves, also made a few of the hats that were donated to the patients, many of whom were mere infants and toddlers.

“The parents were so grateful and gracious that it really warmed our hearts and put everything in perspective for two teenage boys who have their health,” said the boys’ mother, Denyse Williamson. “It made them feel like they were doing something special and made them grateful for what they have.”

_____________Drew Williamson, 16, and his brother Quinn, 15, are no strangers to volunteering.____________

While last year was the first time Drew, 16, and Quinn, 15, have donated their family’s handmade hats to patients at local hospitals, the two are no strangers to volunteering. In fact, their parents require them to give back to their community. Through teaming up with other youngsters in the community, they periodically do “bread drives” to collect food for local church-based food pantries.

“My husband and I, and Grandma Gaga, have tried very hard to instill a sense of community responsibility in our boys,” their mother said. “Volunteering is really important to us, so they do something every year for the community, both year round and at the end of the year.”

The hat donations allowed Drew and Quinn to return to the Hoboken hospital that was once known as St. Mary, where they were born. The hospital is now known as Hoboken University Medical Center.

“To see other children suffering was, I think, jarring for them,” their mother admitted. “But then to do something to make other children happy was a really wonderful experience for them. We’re really grateful to the hospitals because they let them do that.”